The job of writing keeps us feeling guilty for either writing too much or not writing enough. Here are three specific ways to manage writing and guilt so that the pleasure of the first can overwhelm the need for the second.
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It was recently revealed that the daily agenda of the most powerful person in the world included policy time (in addition to executive time). It's my policy to crank out a new roundup of euphemisms each month. Around these here parts, it's always malarkey time.
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If we start from the fact that language is first and foremost a spoken activity, the methods by which people have extended its powers to writing offer a fascinating lens into human history.
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Happy Thesaurus Day!

January 18, 2016

January 18th is celebrated as Thesaurus Day to honor the birthday of the author of the first thesaurus, Peter Mark Roget. Get into the spirit by reading our two-part interview with Roget biographer Joshua Kendall here and here. Also check out an ode to the thesaurus penned by Franklin P. Adams here and Johnny Carson's hilarious "Funeral for a Thesaurus Editor" sketch here.

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Celebrating Labor (and Labour) Day

September 4, 2015

On the first Monday in September, the United States observes Labor Day, while Canadians celebrate Labour Day. If you want to know why labour is the accepted spelling in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries like Canada, while Americans prefer labor (and color, favor, honor, humor, and neighbor), check out this classic Word Routes column by Ben Zimmer.